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UK Results Summary
Between September 28 and October 9, 2020, a survey of 3,258 pet owners was commissioned by the global animal health association, HealthforAnimals, and global healthcare communications consultancy Pegasus, an Ashfield company, part of UDG Healthcare PLC.
The survey was conducted by Censuswide, a global survey provider. Participants from four countries took part, including Brazil (1,015), the US (1,010) France (625), and the UK (608). The pet owners were divided evenly (50:50) between dog and cat owners.
Download the survey materials or view the UK findings summary below:
Overview of UK Survey Results
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted health care for UK pets.
- More than a quarter of pet owners (28%) delayed or avoided contacting their veterinary practice since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- More than 1 in 10 pets (16%) missed essential, routine treatments like vaccines, and flea, tick or worm treatments.
- Pet owners cited concerns around exposure beyond social bubbles and delaying non-essential activities for avoiding veterinary practices.
75% of UK pet owners were able to list at least one safety measure adopted by their veterinary practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Social distancing, PPE and only allowing one person to accompany pets to appointments, were among the most common precautions.
- Only 1% of pet owners said their veterinary clinic had not adopted new safety measures in response to Covid-19.
Telemedicine tools were widely adopted and UK pet owners were satisfied with results
- Almost half (48%) of pet owners stated their veterinarian offered digital/remote consultations, up from 20 per cent prior to the pandemic.
- 66% of pet owners who has a consultation with their veterinarian using remote or digital tools were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the overall consultation.
- 57% of all pet owners said they are willing to pay for veterinary advice/consultation through these services and 18% said they would consider whether a practice offered digital/remote consultations when registering with a new veterinarian.
Most pet owners had no problem accessing animal medicines
- 65% of pet owners said the pandemic did not make it harder to access medicines nor did they need to provide a different medicine than their pet is used to.
- For pet owners who had difficulty, the top issues were veterinary practice and/or pharmacist was not open, shipping times were delayed, or owner was unable to collect the medicine due to social distancing restrictions/personal safety practices.
- Less than 4% of pet owners reported that their veterinary practice and/or pharmacist did not have their pet’s medicine in stock; Only 3.5% said their medicine was not available online.